Of family, new and old

I come from a moderately-small family. I have 3 other siblings, 1 elder brother and 2 elder sisters. And me. That makes me youngest of age, biggest of size :P My mom, however, came from a much smaller family. She only has 1 other sibling - her younger sister, or 'sis' as she always calls her. I enjoy listening to my mom's stories about her younger days, though some of them are rather sad. You see, my mom had to quit school when she was 10 years old. She quit so that she could work and earn enough money, so that her sis could go to school. Such sacrifice. I see my mom's eyes light up whenever she tells me those stories of what she and her sis used to do when they were kids, getting into trouble and all. These stories always only have 2 characters in it, cos they're not allowed to mix around with other kids much, if not at all. And I can tell that she loves her sis deeply, and that they were really close. After all, they only have each other.

Until one day, her sis told her that she had found her real family. Apparently, my mom and her sis were both adopted by my grandparents when they were babies, and that they came from different families. My mom's sis was very excited to have finally found her true family and as she talks about them, she'd say things like my brother, my that, my this, my sis. My SIS. My mom was heartbroken, cause to her, she's her only sis in her life. But such is life. One's happiness doesn't always guarantee the same for another.

I've asked my mom once, whether she have thoughts about her real family. She said no, and that her family is the family she grew up with, even if her sis feels otherwise. I had tears in my eyes.

That was many years ago. About 2 weeks ago, however, I was shocked to hear from my brother that my mom has just met her real brother, her elder brother in Kuala Kurau, a place we used to go to during Raya, when I was much younger. This came as a shock to me because I had no idea that my mom was looking for her real family. When I spoke with my mom the other day, she sounded really happy, and I am happy for her. As it turns out, my mom comes from a family of 9 siblings. 9! Not 2, but 9!! I wonder how my mom feels about that. And while I'm still getting used to the idea of the new found brother, my mom has now met up with her younger sister! I have to say that I had many questions as to how my mom found out about her real family, and there's this big 'what if' at the back of my mind, you know, kinda questioning 'how do we really know?'............but I felt overwhelmed with emotion when I saw photos of my mom and her sis taken at dinner by my brother. There's a striking resemblance between them two. I do not know any better but I find myself believing that they are indeed sisters. I had tears in my eyes.

Now, I have yet to see my mom face-to-face since I heard the news of her meeting her brother. And I'm dying to talk and hear her talk about it, but I am away in JB now for work, and will be here till the 18th. But from the sound of it, she's happy. And that's all I want for her.

I love you mom.

Of nasi pedas, tipat and hating vegetables

I'm at my Third Place again. Leaving for Bali in about 2 hours. There is a Venti Espresso and Cream Frappuccino (nothing beats sipping a Frappuccino early in the morning!) on my table and beside it, is Grandma's Apple Pie. Well, not my actual grandma's of course :P

I like Bali. I like it a lot. I'm sure Jason would disapprove. Hehe....Jason is one of my colleagues and I guess he hadn't had a good experience in the Island of the Gods yet. Speaking of which, I should really get him that I Love Bali tee. :P

As always, I make it a point to try out local dishes wherever I go. It often adds a plus point to my destinations :)

My mom loves spicy food, so when we were told during our trip that there's a famous spicy rice dish in Bali called Nasi Pedas, we knew she must try it! And boy did she love it!! You see, there's been other told-to-be-spicy dishes in Bali that she has tried, but none is as spicy as she likes them to be. So, with this Nasi Pedas, my mom has finally met her match! Seduced by curiosity (as opposed to by my fondness of spicy food), I, on trips I made later, tried it myself. And yes it is AWESOME! Okay, granted that I had just a tiny bit of sambal, but side dishes offered are cooked spicy anyway, so there's really no escaping the spiciness. Behind all the hotness, there's a taste that is too delicious to describe. Especially if you get those crispy small fish. YUM!! So, let it be known that if you're ever in Bali, you should never leave without having at least one helping of the heavenly-spicy Nasi Pedas. And if you think "No thank you, I cannot take spicy stuff", guess what? So can't I. You gotta try it, still.

And if you find the urge to chicken out too hard to defy, then I have something else for you. It's called Tipat (am not entirely sure how to spell it but that's how it sound like when they say it). It's very similar to Nasi Himpit or Ketupat. This dish is a mixture of cube rice, bean sprouts and long beans - all wonderfully covered in a creamy n spicy (or lightly spicy - customized to your liking, you chickens! LOL!) peanut sauce, which is hand-made fresh, right before your eyes! It is fantastic!! It's munching-on-the-bean-sprouts-and-long beans good!!! And if you know me at all, you'd know that that's bad for me! Haha!!!

So yeah, I hate vegetables. I have been for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure why, but I just can't agree with the taste. Especially those with stems. Top hate items are carrots, tomatoes, celery. Urghh! But there are exceptions. I can generally take in those that are crushed or mushed beyond recognition such as Kangkung Belacan or any other strictly leafy vege variations. That or anything drenched with peanut sauce, vinaigrette or other tasty dressing (honey mustard sauce also comes to mind). Ooh there's another exception - Popiah. That, I like! :)

I'll be in Bali over the next 5 days and am looking forward to enjoy the 2 amazing must-haves there.

Care to join me?